humanizing strings, brass, woodwinds

[Chimpazilla]

Hi friends, I have recently been working on piano humanization and have learned many skills. I now have a remix underway which has piano, flute, three kinds of strings, and some trumpets. Can someone point me to a thread or tutorial (or just offer some quick words) about humanizing strings, brass, winds? I'm assuming it is going to be "swells" using volume automation, but I'm sure there are plenty of other tricks. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

p.s. the remix is very dramatic and dark as it revolves around Ganon. Heh heh heh!

[dannthr]

The trick to humanization, for any instrument, is putting yourself in the shoes of the player.

This means, on a fundamental level, pretending like the virtual performance is one performed by an actual player.

On the surface, this means that you must understand more about the instrument. What note transitions are difficult? Easy? How would they actually sound? Listen to a recording. How long can a player sound a note without turning purple? What is typical phrasing like for the instrument?

On the next level, this means understanding how the instrument works in a way that a player understands how their own instrument works. How is sound produced? If the flute player tilts their head, what happens to the sound? If they tap their keys down quickly, where does the sound come out primarily, etc?

Nest, how does the virtual player sit in with the rest of the virtual band? Are they soloists? Is the band listening to them? Or are they following a conductor? Who is listening to whom is like dancing when someone is leading--you need someone to lead for a natural dance, but if both people or no one leads, it's awkward. So you need to visualize--imagine--what is going on in your virtual performance.

On the last level, the one most people don't explore, who is the player? They are imaginary, virtual, yes, but give them life, who are they, does performance make them nervous? Playing in a difficult range might make a performer nervous, that might change the way they play, they might get tired, but also they might tense up, they might speed through the passage a little quicker than the pace of the music, etc.

I have used some or all of these factors/considerations when mocking up a virtual performance.

The trick is that you must UNDERSTAND your own software capabilities and incapabilities and moreover understand how to reproduce all of these little human nuances with your technology.

Does that mean using modulation, automation, controlling volume, timbre, and timing? Yes, yes to all of it.

[Cash]

Do you have a midi keyboard? Actually playing the part yourself should go a long way.

[Chimpazilla]

Do you have a midi keyboard? Actually playing the part yourself should go a long way.

Funny you should ask... I don't have one yet, but I believe my husband will be getting me one for Christmas. Any suggestions on what I should get?

[Cash]

Funny you should ask... I don't have one yet, but I believe my husband will be getting me one for Christmas. Any suggestions on what I should get?

I don't really know too much about keyboards, so I don't have any specific suggestions.

I bought one that was relatively cheap ($100) and that would fit on my desk, mine has 49 keys, about 3ft. I was also looking for a keyboard that I could just plug in and start using in my DAW, which is FL Studio 10, with no hassle. I bought one that was essentially just the keys, without built in samples or software. I can send you a link to the one I bought if you'd like.

Obviously, there are much larger keyboards with fancy samples and software, knobs, modulation wheels and the like. I opted on the simple side because I do all that stuff in FL. It depends on your needs.

I hope that helps!

[Chimpazilla]

I don't really know too much about keyboards, so I don't have any specific suggestions.

I bought one that was relatively cheap ($100) and that would fit on my desk, mine has 49 keys, about 3ft. I was also looking for a keyboard that I could just plug in and start using in my DAW, which is FL Studio 10, with no hassle. I bought one that was essentially just the keys, without built in samples or software. I can send you a link to the one I bought if you'd like.

Obviously, there are much larger keyboards with fancy samples and software, knobs, modulation wheels and the like. I opted on the simple side because I do all that stuff in FL. It depends on your needs.

I hope that helps!

That would be great, thanks. I use FL10 also!

edit: I just sent you a pm.

[Cash]

That would be great, thanks. I use FL10 also!

edit: I just sent you a pm.

Glad to be of help!

Here's what I bought, from Amazon

It works well, though sometimes it stops working in FL. Simply restarting FL and resetting the keyboard fixes is it. A minor inconvenience, but not a deal breaker.

[Dissidia]

I've been thinking of buying cheap instruments just to get a feel for them. I have a guitar and that greatly made me understand how guitars "work". If you're lucky you have access to them over a short period of time to study and play (like borrowing/school).

Violin or Viola would definitely be next for me.

[Ravich]

Advice:

1) Midi keyboard. If you can afford it and have the space, get something weighted. I find it incredibly difficult to control the output of a keyboard without weighted keys, but perhaps that is partially because I am a piano player. I managed to get myself a full sized weighted keyboard a couple of years ago at a guitar center labor day sale for 280$ (heavy damn thing - about 80 lbs), but I'm not sure what your price range is. As far as choosing one goes, make sure it is in your price range, and make sure you like the way it feels. Choosing by brand name is best for people that know exactly what they want and have extra money to spend for the name.

2) Know your instruments. If you want it to sound realistic, you need to know what the instrument sounds like when it is played realistically. Listen to recordings for this purpose, and make sure you're listening to things that are in the style you are trying to emulate.

3) Know your sample library. You need to both know how to use it, and also understand its limitations. Part of this comes from practice, and part of it comes from learning from demos that use the library effectively. Trying to make an instrument sound realistic in a way that the library isnt capable of pulling off wont result in a good sound. Part of the compromise of working with sample libraries is that to a certain extent you are writing for the samples. Your flute legato patch isnt going to change its sound so that it sounds better playing a bright passage, so make sure you're aiming for something reasonable.

4) If you can, play piano. Learn a range of pieces that use varying degrees of strictness in regards to rhythm. Learn what it sounds like for things to be too rigid, as well as too free. They dont have to be technically complex pieces, so dont discourage yourself by aiming for something unreasonable. Record yourself playing these pieces and listen to the playback to get an idea of what the listener hears when they're not inside your head.

5) Orchestration. I dont mean writing for an entire orchestra. What I mean is simply knowing how the instrument is used. If you use a flute in a passage that doesnt sound like something a flute would normally play, it might not end up sounding the way you wanted. It might not matter at all, but it's something to keep in mind.

Good luck!